Friday, July 22, 2016

Muskeg Lake girl to throw out first pitch at Blue Jays game

Bella Lafond Arcand survived radical brain surgery in 2013 to relieve
her dozens of daily seizures. She was discharged Wednesday from another
hospital stay when her mom told her they were stopping for ice cream.
When they arrived at the Dairy Queen in the Rosewood neighbourhood,
the 11-year-old walked in and saw family, friends and a crowd of media. A
store official told her she’d been picked to attend an upcoming Blue
Jays game and throw out the first pitch.
Bella, herself a baseball player and fan, appeared a bit shy before
smiling and laughing. She put on a Jays jersey and cut a large cake
before posing for pictures.
“It’s really great,” she said.
The trip will be a welcome relief, her mom said. Bella’s 2013 surgery
lasted eight hours. Surgeons effectively disconnected the left
hemisphere of her brain in an attempt to stop the seizures. She had to
learn to walk again and perform other basic tasks. The surgery did
eliminate many of the seizures, but they’ve since returned, to a lesser
degree.
“We’re just dealing with that now,” Lafond said...http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/muskeg-lake-girl-to-throw-out-first-pitch-at-blue-jays-game2